The proliferation of transaction cards or tokens, which allow the cardholder to pay with credit rather than cash, started in the United States in the early 1950s. Initial transaction cards were typically restricted to select restaurants and hotels and were often limited to an exclusive class of individuals. Since the introduction of plastic credit cards, the use of transaction cards have rapidly proliferated from the United States, to Europe, and then to the rest of the world. Transaction cards are not only information carriers, but typically allow a consumer to pay for goods and services without the need to constantly possess cash, or if a consumer needs cash, transaction cards allow access to funds through an automatic teller machine (“ATM”). Transaction cards also reduce the exposure to the risk of cash loss through theft and reduce the need for currency exchanges when traveling to various foreign countries. Due to the advantages of transaction cards, hundreds of millions of cards are now produced and issued annually, thereby resulting in a need for companies to differentiate their cards from competitor's cards.
Initially, the transaction cards often included the issuer's name, the cardholder's name, the card number, and the expiration date embossed onto the card. The cards also usually included a signature field on the back of the card for the cardholder to provide a signature to protect against forgery and tampering. Thus, the initial cards merely served as devices to provide data to merchants and the only security associated with the card was the comparison of the cardholder's signature on the card to the cardholder's signature on a receipt along with the embossed cardholder name on the card.
Due to the popularity of transaction cards, numerous companies, banks, airlines, trade groups, sporting teams, clubs and other organizations have developed their own transaction cards. As such, many companies continually attempt to differentiate their transaction cards and increase market share not only by offering more attractive financing rates and low initiation fees, but also by offering unique, aesthetically pleasing features on the transaction cards. As such, many transaction cards include not only demographic and account information, but the transaction cards also include graphic images, designs, photographs and security features.
Administrative and security issues, such as charges, credits, merchant settlement, fraud, reimbursements, etc., have increased due to the increasing use of transaction cards. Thus, the transaction card industry started to develop more sophisticated transaction cards which allowed the electronic reading, transmission, and authorization of transaction card data for a variety of industries. For example, magnetic stripe cards, optical cards, smart cards, calling cards, and supersmart cards have been developed to meet the market demand for expanded features, functionality, and security. In addition to the visual data, the incorporation of a magnetic stripe on the back of a transaction card allowed digitized data to be stored in machine readable form. As such, magnetic stripe readers are used in conjunction with magnetic stripe cards to communicate purchase data received from a cash register device on-line to a host computer along with the transmission of data stored in the magnetic stripe, such as account information and expiration date.
Due to the susceptibility of the magnetic stripe to tampering, the lack of confidentiality of the information within the magnetic stripe and the problems associated with the transmission of data to a host computer, integrated circuits were developed which could be incorporated into transaction cards. These integrated circuit (IC) cards, known as smart cards, proved to be very reliable in a variety of industries due to their advanced security and flexibility for future applications. More information regarding the features and specifications of transaction cards can be found in, for example, Smart Cards by Jose Luis Zoreda and Jose Manuel Oton, 1994; Smart Card Handbook by W. Rankl and W. Effing, 1997, and the various ISO standards for transaction cards available from ANSI (American National Standards Institute), 11 West 42nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10036, the entire contents of all of these publications are herein incorporated by reference.
The incorporation of machine-readable components onto transactions cards encouraged the proliferation of devices to simplify transactions by automatically reading from and/or writing onto transaction cards. Such devices include, for example, bar code scanners, magnetic stripe readers, point of sale terminals (POS), automated teller machines (ATM) and card-key devices. With respect to ATMs, the total number of ATM devices shipped in 1999 is 179,274 (based on Nilson Reports data) including the ATMs shipped by the top ATM manufacturers, namely NCR (138-18 231st Street, Laurelton, N.Y. 11413), Diebold (5995 Mayfair, North Canton, Ohio 44720-8077), Fujitsu (11085 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, Calif. 92037), Omron (Japan), OKI (Japan) and Triton.
Many of the card acceptance devices require that the transaction card be inserted into the device such that the device can appropriately align its reading head with the relevant component of the transaction card. Particularly, many ATMs require that a transaction card be substantially inserted into a slot in the ATM. After insertion of the card into the slot, the ATM may have an additional mechanical device for further retracting the transaction card into the ATM slot. To activate the ATM, the ATM typically includes a sensor, such as a phototransistor and a light emitting diode (LED), which emits light onto a card surface and the phototransistor receives light from the LED.
It can be quite inconvenient for a user to utilize a machine, or to otherwise manipulate a transaction card in a merchant POS card reader or the like. Specifically, transaction cards are typically contained within a wallet or purse and must be located and presented to a card reading machine. Many times, the relatively thin transaction card is difficult to locate. The transaction card is then physically inserted into a machine, or the transaction card is slid through a card reader whereby the magnetic stripe is detected and decoded by the card reader. This requires the physical manipulation of the card, and typically requires a transaction card owner to relinquish control of the transaction card to a merchant for sliding the card or otherwise entering the card into a machine. In addition, when a user of a transaction card conducts a transaction, a representative of the merchant is typically necessary to be present to conduct the transaction. A need therefore exists for a transaction token that allows a consumer to more effectively and more efficiently conduct a transaction.
Moreover, many merchant POS card readers, as described above, require slots and mechanical means for retracting a transaction card thereinto and expelling a transaction card therefrom. These card readers may be susceptible to mechanical breakdown, thereby requiring frequent maintenance of the card readers.
In addition, the information that is typically contained on magnetic stripes is generally limited by the size of the magnetic stripes. Additional information relating to the identity of the owner of the card, merchants that the card owner frequents, or other such information, would allow the card providers to better track use of the cards, thereby providing better service and/or products. Moreover, further information would allow for more secure transactions, whereby sophisticated encryption may be utilized to protect the information. A need, therefore, further exists for a transaction card or token having the ability to store more information than is typically stored on a magnetic stripe and to be recorded or otherwise accessed when the transaction token is utilized to conduct a transaction.
Fobs are generally known that may be attachable to and detachable from a securing means, such as a keychain or the like. For example, fobs may be utilized for containing keys within a protectable case for physically manipulating a lock to provide entry, such as to a house or an automobile. Moreover, fobs may include electronic circuitry and depressible buttons for electronically and wirelessly manipulating something such as a lock for a door or a trunk of an automobile. It is also well-known to provide a “panic” button that may set off an alarm, such as within an automobile.
It is also generally known to provide a fob having means for wirelessly conducting transactions. For example, it is known to utilize a fob for purchasing gasoline at select gasoline providers. A user of the fob typically waves the fob at or near a designated location, and a fob reader wirelessly accesses the information contained on the fob for completing the sale of gasoline. However, these fobs typically are confined to a particular good or service and the purchase thereof.
Wireless fobs typically are inaccessible or not easily accessible, such that when a fob malfunctions or if information contained therein becomes outdated, the entire fob must be replaced rather than merely replacing the circuitry containing the malfunction or outdated information. A need, therefore, exists for providing a wireless transaction fob whereby the circuitry containing the information may be easily replaced, such as if a malfunction arises or if information becomes outdated.
In addition, typical fobs include a ring or a hole for attaching the fob to a keychain or other securing means. However, it may be difficult to remove the keychain or other securing means. For example, it may be necessary to quickly remove a fob from a keychain, especially when the fob is needed for a transaction, but the keys that are attached to the keychain are being utilized, such as in the ignition of an automobile. A need, therefore exists for an easily removable fob that may be easily and quickly removable from a keychain or other securing means.